In recent decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from being a concept restricted to science fiction to becoming a transformative force in various sectors of society, and journalism has not been left out of this revolution. From algorithms capable of writing news stories in seconds to systems that help with fact-finding and verification, AI has been redesigning the way information is produced, distributed and consumed. This technological evolution raises urgent debates about ethics, automation and the future of work in newsrooms, while at the same time offering new tools to enhance journalistic practice in the midst of the digital age.
Perhaps people are still unaware of AI’s capabilities and the proof of this lies in the fact that few, if anyone, has realized that the above contextualization was made by the GPT chat from the following command “Write a lead/contextualization for a journalistic story talking about the emergence and evolution of artificial intelligence and the impacts of this intelligence on journalism”.
And what may come as even more of a surprise is the fact that the chat even left it as a suggestion to write a complete story on this topic and not being satisfied, it could also adapt the story already written for different formats (podcast, video, infographic) or audiences (podcast, video, infographic) or audiences (children, academics, social networks). So, a plausible question arises in our heads: what now? Will AI steal my job and journalistic career?
We can’t make such radical statements at the moment, the world is undergoing transformations driven by AI and as it is something relatively recent and certainly great, we must take advantage of this beginning to allow ourselves to make mistakes while we learn to deal with this new global paradigm. That’s why this article will present information from an interview with professional Eduardo Nunomura, who holds a master’s and doctorate in Communication Sciences from the University of São Paulo, which will help us reflect on this new reality for journalists.
USE AND USE ETHICALLY!
Before thinking about how we are going to use artificial intelligence to benefit journalism, we need to analyze what level this mechanism is currently at, since tools such as GPT Chat (launched in November 2022) are still new and society as a whole is becoming familiar with this new reality. The current situation is “forcing” people to get used to something that no one was prepared to use and which has already been imposed in such a drastic and radical way.
The fact is that, due to general inexperience and the need to learn how to use these practical tools, many have not been aware of the ethical dilemmas that the use of AI in journalism encompasses and this may be the key point that will define our professional future, our quest to problematize the situations in which we use AI in our profession and the breaking of taboos when we talk openly about the use and fears of this mechanism. And it is along these lines that Eduardo Nunomura, also a professor at Cásper Líbero University, opens debates and raises awareness among his students who are being introduced to the world of journalism in the midst of the AI revolution.
“I think we, teachers, have to use AI to share our fears, anxieties, and the ethical discussions, which perhaps students, specifically in journalism and communication in general, may not yet have the great ethical dimensions involved in the issue. One is to use it, the other is to use it ethically – two very different things”, opens Nunomura.
A SHORTCUT OR A TOOL?
Once we become aware of the ethical dilemmas that artificial intelligence poses within journalism and understand that there are differences between using it and using it ethically, we can then look for ways to use this tool for our benefit and not as a way of helping to replace our workforce. Hence the question: are we going to use AI as a shortcut or a tool?
We already know that AI is able to write journalistic texts based on its system of analyzing and reproducing the patterns of countless stories already posted on the internet, so it’s up to us to question whether we’re going to allow our stories to be quickly written by a website. Is it worth it?
From the moment we put a GPT Chat to do our job, we give up our profession and everything that attracted us when we chose to be journalists. This work would indeed be done instantly, but we would automatically be taking away something that could be so pleasurable and full of humanity.
“You are handing over to AI something that you could do with your talent, expertise, experience and own style”, highlights the teacher.
Handing over an agenda for AI to do on its own seems like a kind of self-sabotage to me, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use it for other functions such as proofreading, creating spreadsheets to help organize and calculate data, or choosing tags for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). These are some great ways to use AI to optimize the time you would spend on a purely bureaucratic task and use the time saved to improve your writing, without using it as a lazy shortcut.
THE FUTURE
Artificial intelligence is already demonstrating its full potential and every day more research is done to improve it, but there are still those who believe that it is possible to go against this technological revolution that is already being imposed on all professional areas and society as a whole.
Much of this rejection is due to the fact that many people still underestimate the full potential that this mechanism has. But when analyzing that AI is already capable of prescribing diets, reproducing voices, writing articles and performing countless other tasks, we must adapt and update ourselves, precisely so that we are not taken by surprise. We must understand that AI can be a threat and those who don’t see this may be left behind, both in journalism and in other professions.
“We’re living in a world where perhaps society will say whether it wants AI content or not. Whether or not they mind having human content or not human content”, affirms Nunomura.
Although we can make certain predictions about the future after this revolution, much of what we will experience as communication professionals will depend on what society agrees is acceptable or not in the presence of AI within journalism. If society accepts reading and consuming content made 100% by this intelligence, we will suffer from an even more radical change, which in turn will drastically reduce the workforce needed to carry out our profession.
This possible reality has not yet been defined, we still have no idea of the scale that this revolution will cause, which is why in the meantime we must strive to improve ourselves as journalists and learn to master this mechanism before it dominates us and, above all, encourage debates that help raise awareness among individuals, making them increasingly critical and humane.
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The article above was edited by Mariana De Oliver.
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